ORIENTAL — A 59-year-old man found dead Christmas Day on Silverbrook Road apparently died of natural causes. But his mother still has questions.

Pamlico County Sheriff Billy Sawyer said Sunday that an autopsy on the body of Dickie Tyrone Coleman showed that he died of natural causes.

Coleman stayed with his mother on Silverbrook Road, and his body was found Wednesday evening down the street from their home.

Coleman’s mother, Parthina, said her son did not have any health problems that she was aware of except a hearing problem.

“He left here about 5 (p.m.) walking,” she said.

Later family members went looking for him. They walked down Silverbrook Road and did not see him, she said.

“Then someone else came along and said they found him right where they (family members) had looked,” Coleman’s mother said. “He could have been put there. I don’t believe he just fell over. I don’t believe it. The sheriff looked into it and said there was not any foul play. I don’t know.”

She said her son’s funeral is Monday. According to an obituary, he worked in the seafood industry and was a member of Pierce Chapel AME Zion Church.